Package sealing apparatus



Y Dec. 21, 1937. w. P. WHITE PACKAGE SEALING APPARATUS Original Filed Feb. 2,-1933 I up-l.

Patented Dec. 21, 1937 PATENT OFFICE PACKAGE SEALING APPARATUS William P. White, Glencoe, Ill., assignor to White Cap Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation Delaware Original application February 2, 1933, Serial No. 654,847. Divided and this application July 5,

. 1935, Serial No. 29,806

10 Claims. (Cl. 226--80) This invention rrelates to packaging and pertains particularly to apparatus for the sealing of closure caps on packing vessels such as bottles andthe like. The present application is a division `from my kcopendingapplication Serial No. 654,847, filed February 2, 1933, on which U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,041,891 were issued on May 26, 1936. Y

General objects of the invention include th provision of an improved apparatus for apply- `ing and sealing closure caps on packing containers, whereby the capping may be accomplished incident to the continuous progressive movement of the containers at a high rateof speed and in close succession one after another, without subjecting the containers to likelihood of being overturned or tilted in such'lashion as to spill any of their contents.

Another object is the provision of apparatus eiective to-obtain the above specified results and advantages, and in conjunction therewith to effect the sterilization of the closures and the mouth portions of the :containers and to effect thedisplacement or removal 'of air from the unoccupied portions of `the container and closure in such fashion that a sub-atmospheric pressure is obtained in the sealed packages.

Other and further objects will be pointed out or indicated hereinafter or will become apparent to one skilled in-the art upon an understanding of the invention or itsemployment in use.

, For the purpose of `aiding in an explanation of the invention, I show in the drawing forming a part of this specicationjand hereinafter describe, certain forms of apparatus embodying same. It is to be understood, however, that these are presented merely by way of example, and are not to be construed in any fashion Calculated to limit the appended claims short of the true and most comprehensive scope ofthe invention in the art.

In said drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a form of sealing apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig.v 2 is a part horizontal secton'on approximately line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on approximately line 3-3 of Fig-1; and I f are Ytransmitted progressively, in aseries, at'a continuousl uniform rate of speed, and closure `caps are lapplied to and sealed upon the `successive containers while they are thus moving progressively. l The arrangement is Such that the serially arranged containers do not have to be spaced uniformly from one another, nor does 5 their progressive movement have to be timed with respect to the closure-applying and sealing operations. Preliminary. to and .during the application of the closureA cap to a container, the open mouth of the container is moved through 10 an atmosphere of hot condensable vapor, angl the closure cap is maintained in the hot condensable vapor for the purpose of sterilizing the closure cap andthe mouth portions of the container and displacing air from within them. The clo- 15 sure cap is sealed on the container promptly after its application thereto, with the result that in the sealed container the head space is occupied by hot condensable vapor. Consequently, upon the cooling of the sealed container andthe con- 20 fined vapor, the pressure within the sealed container will be below thatvof the atmosphere.

For the purpose of maintaining the containers in upright position incident to the application of the caps to them I provide belts which 25 travel alongside the path of the containers, said belts being relatively thin or shallow and being elastica-Hy compressible, and arranged to engage the upper portions of the containers between them, so as to hold the containers securely against overturning. The arrangement of these belts furthermore is such as to afford a closure or movable bottom wall for a housing in which the mouth portions of the containers travel and within which the closure capsare applied to the 35 containers, said housing forminga tunnel-like chamber for. confining the atmosphere of hot vapor. f

The invention. will be understood in more detail by reference to the embodiment illustrated 40 in the drawing. This includes a supporting frame I0 upon which a housing Il is mounted for vertical adjustment by means of screwfposts I2. Uponthe frame travels an endless conveyor III, which forms amoving table on which lthe containers, indicated at V, may stand. Over the conveyor the housing is shaped to form a tunnel or hood portion I I', into which hot steam is conveyed through a suitable pipe I3. A cap chute 5I leads into this tunnel, through the top, and constitutes a means for conducting and guiding closure caps in succession into the housing above the conveyor. The lower end of this-chute is equipped with suitable detent means, which may be ofk the form illustrated and described in my `copending application above identified, said detent means being adapted to retain the lowermost cap in the chute against falling out, but permit-- ting withdrawal of the lowermost cap by the container as hereinafter described. The cap employed may be of the kind disclosed in my copending application above identified and my Patent No. 1,590,787, or of any other suitable sort.- The lowermost cap is supported in a position such that it will be engaged by the mouth rim ofthe container incident to movement of same therebelow, the progressive movement o the container being effective to withdraw such cap from the chute, whereupon the cap comes to rest on the mouthfof the container.

On the housing II are journaled sheaves I9. I9', 20 and 20' which rotate on vertical axes, the sheaves I9 and I9 being adjustable toward and from the sheaves 2D and 20' by suitable means such as the screws 2I. Upon the sheaves I9 and 20 is entrained a belt 40 and upon the sheaves I9 and 20 a similar belt 40. These belts are thin and flat, so that they present thin margins toward each other along the median line of the conveyor I4 and tunnel II. They are elastically compressible transversely, but substantially nonextensible longitudinally, and their relationship is such that the margins of the belts 4U and 40 travel very close to each other or in contact with each other under approximately the median line of the tunnel II.

The conveyor is suitably driven so as to convey the'containers in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, and the sheaves 20 and 2D are driven so as to move the inner traverses of the belts 40 and 40 in the corresponding direction and at the same speed as the conveyor. Said means for actuating the sheaves is shown in Fig. 3 and includes a shaft 'I1 which is driven bythe conveyor operating means, and connected to the sheave 20. a cross shaft 'I8 driven from shaft 'II through the medium of bevel gears, and the hub shaft 'I9 connected to sheave 20 and driven from the cross shaft I8 through the medium of bevel gears.

The cross shaft I8 carries a wheel 22 about which is entrained the sealing belt 4I. said belt at its forward end traveling over an idler wheel 28. A shoe IU presses upon the lower traverse of belt 4I, which travels over the conveyor I4 and in the corresponding direction and at like speed.

In operation of the apparatus. the tunnel II is kept filled with hot steam which is admitted continuously through the pipe I3. The containers, suitably filled with the material to be packaged and with their mouths open, are set upon the conveyor I4 and by it are carried into contact with the belts 40and 40', which engage the necks of the containers at opposite sides and support them rmly in upright position during their ensuing progressive movement. The containers are thus moved progressively with their mouths traveling in the tunnel II', wherein they are enveloped by hot vapor which exercises a sterilizing effect on themand displacesair from the head space. As each container reaches the lower `end of the cap-supporting chute 5I, it engages the lowermost cap therein, which is held in a sloping position in the path of the container mouth, and withdraws the cap from the chute, the cap thereupon comingto rest on and being carried forward with the container. The container then passes under the traveling sealing belt 4I which is pressed down upon the cap by the shoe 10 and forces the cap to sealed position on the container, as the container continues its progressive movement, the conveyor finally carrying it beyond the sealing belt and the belts 40 and 40 and out from under the housing II at the outlet of the machine.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the belts v4I) and 4D' afford the containers firm support, at their upper portions, so that they will not be upset by the resistance encountered in withdrawing the caps from the cap chute. Consequently, they may be passed through the machine very rapidly and in close succession. It Will be also observed that the belts 40 and 4D function as' a bottom closure for the tunnel II to prevent immediate escape of the hot vapor vsupplied to the tunnel by the pipe I3.

What I claim is:

1. In package sealing apparatus, in combination, a closure-supporting means adapted to retentively support a closure, means for supporting a packing container during movement of same past said closure-supporting means, elastically deformable belts arranged to travel in Contact with each other along a portion of the containers path and adapted to grasp the container between them, and means for transmitting said holding members past the closure-supporting means in the direction of the movement of the container.

2. In package sealing apparatus, in combination, a housing affording a longitudinal tunnel adapted to accommodate a portion of a packing container, closure-supporting means in said housing, means for introducing hot iiuid into said housing, and elastically deformable belts arranged to travel along said tunnel and in contact with each other to form a closure therefor.

3. In package sealing apparatus, in combination, a housing affording a downwardly opening longitudinal tunnel adapted to accommodate a portion of a packing container, closure-supporting means in said housing, means for introducing uid into said housing, means below said tunnel for supporting packing containers for travel longitudinally thereof, elastically deformable belts arranged to travel along said tunnel and span the same to form a bottom closure therefor, and means for transmitting said belts.

4. In package sealing apparatus, in combination, a housing, a conveyor operable below the housing to move packing containers progressively with their mouths in the housing, means for introducing iiuid into the housing, traveling members movable along opposite sides of the path of the containers and having portions arranged to form a bottom closure for the housing between the containers, and means for driving the conveyor and traveling members at the same linear speed.

5. Package sealing apparatus as specified in claim 4 and wherein said traveling members are belts which are elastically compressible transversely.

6. In packaging apparatus, in combination, a conveyor adapted to support packing vessels and to move them progressively, a housing over the conveyor and affording a tunnel extending longitudinally thereof in which the upper portions of the packing vessels may travel, and belts having portions extending in close collateral association with each other above the conveyor and below the top of the tunnel, said belts being adapted to grasp between them the upper portions of the packing vessels, means for introducing hot vapor 10. In package sealing apparatus, in combina into the tunnel above the belts, and means for transmitting the conveyor and belts in parallel directionslongitudinally o! the housing and at the same linear speed.

7. In package sealing apparatus, a' combination as specied in claim 6 and including capsupporting means arranged to support closure caps in the housing in the path of the mouth portions of the packing vessels.

8. In package sealing apparatus, a combination as specified in claim 6 and wherein saidfbeits present narrow margins for engagement with the packing vessels and are elastically compressible transversely.

9. In package sealing apparatus, a combination as specified in claim 6 and including means for applying and sealing closure caps on the packing vesselsfwhile thelatter are engaged by said belts.

tion, a conveyor adapted to support packing vessels and to move them progressively, a housing over the conveyor and affording a tunnel extending longitudinally thereof in which the upper portions of a packingvessel may travel, rotatable sheaves carried by the housing. belts carried on said sheaves and `extending collaterally of each other longitudinally of and above the conveyor and below the top of the tunnel and adapted to grasp between them the upper portions of packing vessels on the conveyor, means for adjusting the housing. to vary the vertical spacing of said belts relative to the conveyor, and means for transmitting the conveyor and belts in parallel directions and at the same linear speed.

WILLIAM P. WHITE. 

